Gas Turbine Engine Systems and Methods Involving Enhanced Fuel Dispersion

ABSTRACT

Gas turbine engine systems and methods involving enhanced fuel dispersion are provided. In this regard, a representative method for operating a gas turbine engine includes: providing a gas path through the engine; introducing a spray of fuel along the gas path downstream of a turbine of the engine; and impinging the spray of fuel with a relatively higher velocity flow of air such that atomization of the fuel is increased.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

The U.S. Government may have an interest in the subject matter of this disclosure as provided for by the terms of contract number F33657-99-D-2051 awarded by the United States Air Force.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The disclosure generally relates to gas turbine engines.

2. Description of the Related Art

Some gas turbine engines incorporate thrust augmentors, which are commonly known as afterburners. Although provided in various configurations, an afterburner generally incorporates a structure for introducing fuel along the gas path of the engine downstream of the turbine section. In some applications, flameholders can be provided for initiating combustion of the additional fuel.

SUMMARY

Gas turbine engine systems and methods involving enhanced fuel dispersion are provided. In this regard, an exemplary embodiment of a gas turbine engine system comprises: a fuel conduit; a nozzle having an outlet, the nozzle being operative to receive a flow of fuel from the fuel conduit and to disperse the fuel from the outlet; and an airflow director positioned, at least partially, about the fuel conduit and being operative to direct a flow of air toward the fuel dispersed from the outlet such that interaction between the flow of air and the fuel dispersed from the outlet further atomizes the fuel.

An exemplary embodiment of a gas turbine engine comprises: a combustion section; and an exhaust section located downstream from the combustion section, the exhaust section having an exhaust case and an augmentor assembly; the augmentor assembly having a nozzle assembly and an airflow director, the nozzle assembly being operative to receive a flow of fuel and to disperse the fuel, the airflow director being operative to direct a flow of air from the exhaust case toward the fuel dispersed from the nozzle assembly such that interaction between the flow of air and the fuel dispersed from the nozzle assembly further disburses the fuel.

An exemplary embodiment of a method for operating a gas turbine engine comprises: providing a gas path through the engine; introducing a spray of fuel along the gas path downstream of a turbine of the engine; and impinging the spray of fuel with a relatively higher velocity flow of air such that atomization of the fuel is increased.

Other systems, methods, features and/or advantages of this disclosure will be or may become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional systems, methods, features and/or advantages be included within this description and be within the scope of the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram depicting an exemplary embodiment of a gas turbine engine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram depicting a portion of the embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram depicting a portion of the nozzle assembly of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2 as viewed along section line 3-3.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram depicting a portion of another exemplary embodiment of a nozzle assembly.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Gas turbine engine systems and methods involving enhanced fuel dispersion are provided, several exemplary embodiments of which will be described in detail. In this regard, pressurized airflows are directed to impinge upon sprays of fuel output from augmentor fuel nozzles. In some embodiments, the airflows are directed from pressurized cavities located within vanes that are positioned across gas paths of the engines. Notably, impingement of the airflows on the fuel can enhance dispersion of the fuel, such as by increasing a degree of atomization.

Reference is now made to the schematic diagram of FIG. 1, which depicts an exemplary embodiment of a gas turbine engine. Specifically, engine 100 is a turbofan that incorporates a compressor section 102, a combustion section 104, a turbine section 106 and an exhaust section 108. Although depicted as a turbofan gas turbine engine, it should be understood that the concepts described herein are not limited to use with turbojets as the teachings may be applied to other types of gas turbine engines.

As shown in the embodiment of FIG. 1, exhaust section 108 defines a core gas path 110 directing a core flow of gas (depicted by arrow A), and a bypass gas path 112 directing a bypass flow of gas (depicted by arrow B). Multiple vanes (e.g., vane 114) are positioned circumferentially about a longitudinal axis 116 of the engine, with various components of an augmentor assembly 120 being supported by the vanes. By way of example, location 122 of vane 114 (described in greater detail with respect to FIG. 2) mounts a fuel nozzle for providing a spray of fuel for augmentation. Notably, others of the vanes can support corresponding nozzles so that the augmentor assembly comprises an array of nozzles for directing fuel along the gas path 110. A tailcone 124 also is located in the exhaust section.

As shown in FIG. 2, vane 114 includes an internal cavity 130 through which a fuel nozzle assembly 132 and an igniter 134 extend. The igniter 134 is operative to ignite the fuel dispersed from the fuel nozzle assembly. In some embodiments, a single igniter can be used, whereas additional igniters (each of which is typically associated with a corresponding fuel nozzle assembly) can be used in other embodiments.

Fuel nozzle assembly 132 incorporates a fuel conduit 136, a fuel nozzle 138 and a mounting assembly 140. Fuel conduit 136 delivers a flow of fuel to a fuel nozzle 138. Fuel nozzle 138 is positioned to direct a spray of fuel (depicted by dashed lines) from an outlet 139 to gas path 110. Positioning of the fuel nozzle 138 is facilitated by the mounting assembly 140.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2, mounting assembly 140 includes two mounting components 142, 144, each of which incorporates an aperture. Specifically, component 142 includes aperture 146, and component 144 includes aperture 148. In this embodiment, the components are configured as mounting brackets that removably mount the fuel conduit within the cavity. The apertures are sized and shaped to accommodate passage of the fuel conduit.

Additionally, one or more gaps formed between an exterior of the fuel conduit and the surfaces defining the apertures 146, 148 function as an airflow director. Since the cavity 130 is pressurized during operation, the airflow director directs a flow of air (depicted by arrow C) toward the fuel dispersed from the nozzle outlet 139. Notably, interaction between the flow of air and the fuel dispersed from the outlet further disperses (e.g., atomizes) the fuel. In this embodiment, the flow of air from the airflow director is generally directed radially inwardly toward a centerline of the engine.

Source pressure for the airflow is higher than that of gas path 110 and, in this embodiment, is provided from bypass flow 112 (FIG. 1). Typical pressure ratios between the airflows of paths 110 and 112 can vary considerably during operation. By way of example, a range of such pressure ratios (pressure of path 112/pressure of path 110) may be between approximately 1.12 to approximately 1.40.

It should be noted that the flow of air provided by the airflow director exhibits a relatively higher velocity than other air flowing in a vicinity of the spray of fuel. In this regard, the embodiment of FIG. 2 provides flows of cooling air for cooling tailcone 124. Specifically, tailcone 124 incorporates cooling holes (e.g., hole 150) through which cooling air (depicted by arrow D, for example) flows. The cooling air from tailcone 124 in this embodiment provides a sufficient film of air to cool the tailcone while not being of high enough velocity to divert fuel spray 138 away from igniter 134.

Various influences may affect the flow velocity and volume of airflow provided by the airflow director. Notably, some of these influences include the size and shape of the one or more apertures of the mounting assembly. In this regard, reference is made to FIG. 3, which depicts a portion of mounting component 144.

As shown in FIG. 3, aperture 148 of mounting component 144 provides a continuous, annular gap 160 about the exterior of nozzle assembly 132. However, in this embodiment, a portion 162 of the gap is larger than a portion 164 of the gap, which is located on the opposing side of the fuel conduit. Specifically, portion 162 of the gap is positioned along a portion of the fuel conduit corresponding to a direction (indicated generally by arrow E) at which the fuel is dispersed from the nozzle. Notably, gap 160 is sized to assist in atomizing fuel (e.g., fuel spray 138) while preventing the velocity of the air through the gap from being too high, which can cause fuel to be diverted from an associated igniter.

In order to achieve the desired gap about the nozzle assembly (e.g., about the fuel conduit), various techniques can be used. By way of example, tolerances used to form one or more of the various components can be established to ensure that the desired spacing is achieved. Additionally or alternatively, another component (e.g., a spacer) can be used to position the nozzle assembly with an aperture.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram depicting a portion of another exemplary embodiment of a nozzle assembly. As shown in FIG. 4, mounting component 170 includes an aperture 172, which provides a gap 174 about a portion of the exterior of a fuel conduit 176. In this embodiment, the gap extends circumferentially about the fuel conduit up to approximately 90 degrees. In other embodiments, such a gap can extend circumferentially about a portion of a nozzle assembly up to approximately 180 degrees, whereas still others may extend up to approximately 45 degrees.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of this disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiments without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the accompanying claims. 

1. A gas turbine engine system comprising: a fuel conduit; a nozzle having an outlet, the nozzle being operative to receive a flow of fuel from the fuel conduit and to disperse the fuel from the outlet; and an airflow director positioned, at least partially, about the fuel conduit and being operative to direct a flow of air toward the fuel dispersed from the outlet such that interaction between the flow of air and the fuel dispersed from the outlet further atomizes the fuel.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein: the airflow director comprises a mounting bracket and an aperture; and the fuel conduit passes through the aperture.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein: the airflow director comprises an aperture through which the fuel conduit passes; and an airflow gap, operative to direct the flow of air, is formed between the aperture and an exterior of the fuel conduit.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the airflow gap is an annular gap positioned about the fuel conduit.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein at least a portion of the airflow gap is positioned along a portion of the fuel conduit corresponding to a direction at which the fuel is dispersed from the nozzle.
 6. The system of claim 3, wherein the airflow gap extends circumferentially about the fuel conduit up to approximately 180 degrees.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the airflow gap extends circumferentially about the fuel conduit up to approximately 90 degrees.
 8. The system of claim 6, wherein the airflow director is operative to position the fuel conduit.
 9. The system of claim 1, further comprising an igniter positioned adjacent the outlet and being operative to ignite the fuel dispersed from the outlet and further atomized by the airflow director.
 10. A gas turbine engine comprising: a combustion section; and an exhaust section located downstream from the combustion section, the exhaust section having an exhaust case and an augmentor assembly; the augmentor assembly having a nozzle assembly and an airflow director, the nozzle assembly being operative to receive a flow of fuel and to disperse the fuel, the airflow director being operative to direct a flow of air from the exhaust case toward the fuel dispersed from the nozzle assembly such that interaction between the flow of air and the fuel dispersed from the nozzle assembly further disburses the fuel.
 11. The engine of claim 10, wherein the airflow director is positioned, at least partially, about the nozzle assembly.
 12. The engine of claim 10, wherein: the airflow director comprises an aperture through which the nozzle assembly passes; and an airflow gap, operative to direct the flow of air, is formed between the aperture and an exterior of the nozzle assembly.
 13. The engine of claim 10, further comprising cooling air apertures operative to direct cooling air toward a vicinity of the nozzle assembly.
 14. The engine of claim 13, wherein the exhaust section has a tail cone; and the air cooling apertures are located on the tail cone.
 15. The engine of claim 10, further comprising a vane extending across a gas path of the exhaust section, the nozzle assembly being routed through at least a portion of the vane.
 16. The engine of claim 10, wherein the engine is a turbofan gas turbine engine.
 17. The engine of claim 10, wherein the flow of air increases atomization of the fuel.
 18. A method for operating a gas turbine engine comprising: providing a gas path through the engine; introducing a spray of fuel along the gas path downstream of a turbine of the engine; and impinging the spray of fuel with a relatively higher velocity flow of air such that atomization of the fuel is increased.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein: the spray of fuel is a first spray of fuel of multiple sprays of fuel introduced along the gas path downstream of the turbine; and the method further comprises igniting the fuel of the multiple sprays only at a location adjacent to the first spray of fuel.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the flow of air, immediately prior to impingement with the spray of fuel, is directed radially inwardly toward a centerline of the engine. 